


you won't ever be alone (wait for me to come home).

by michellejjones



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, joshaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:13:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9405158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michellejjones/pseuds/michellejjones
Summary: Josh lifts his hands and looks up at her, "I'm still your boing?" He asks, hopeful. She doesn't hesitate, "you're always my boing." [Somewhere in between life, Josh and Maya spend some time together. Joshaya. Oneshot.]





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first GMW fic. I've had this in the works for months, but could never get it just right. I am, however, pretty happy with it now. I'm also pretty sad the show is ending. But that's neither here, nor there. Everyone's older here; Maya, Lucas, and Zay are the eldest, between eighteen and nineteen. Riley, Farkle, and Isadora are between seventeen and eighteen. Josh is twenty-two. Now, without further ado, please, enjoy.

Maya is mortified.

She had always known she wasn't the _best_ dancer, or the best at socializing; Maya isn't as light on her feet as Zay, or as graceful with people as Lucas and Riley, but she's no _Farke Minkus_ or _Isadora Smackle_ , either.

And yet.

During her entire time in middle and high school, she'd never run across a single instance where she'd actually had to truly dance, or socialize with somebody on her own. So imagine her surprise when, during senior year's homecoming dance, she had been pushed to dance with a boy that was not Zay, or Farkle, or Lucas, or a girl that was not Isadora or Riley. She'd been pushed to dance with the exchange student from _Italy,_ who was desperately cute (cute didn't cut it; the boy was _stunning._ He broke the scale), and, according to Zay, _"so into you, sunshine, that it ain't even funny no more."_

And so, when Alessandro asked Maya to dance, she had accepted, not thinking twice on it.

That had been her mistake.

So after the dance with Alessandro had ended, his feet sore and her pride wounded, and they had parted ways with burning faces, and she had pushed Riley and Zay aside in favor of the chocolate cupcakes crowding the snack bar, Maya had steeled herself and decided it was time for her to learn something new.

Originally, Maya had planned to ask Zay. Zay is her best guy friend, by far, a person who she can speak to with almost as much confidence as with Riley. Zay is good with people, and a fantastic dancer.

Too fantastic.

He got offered a chance to dance ballet for one of the best ballet shows in the country, took his senior year on the road. He'd left four months ago. She misses him terribly.

So, with Zay gone, Maya turned to the next-best dancer she knew.

Joshua Matthews.

The only problem?

They haven't spoken in months.

Arguments between friends are a sticky business, Maya thinks as she stands before his door, pondering whether she should knock or walk away with her head low. She hadn't called before coming, or texted. Her arrival is completely unannounced. She raises a hand to knock before lowering it and squinting at the door.

Deep down, Maya knows this entire thing is her fault. But pride and vanity are funny businesses, and she has yet to lay down either and apologize, though she knows the injury she had inflicted onto Josh is her fault. Maya can't help but wonder if it's too late to say sorry. Biting her lip, she raises a hand to knock.

_"Maya?"_

Whirling around, hair settling on her shoulders with a soft little _swish,_ Maya's eyes widen upon seeing the very man she had been thinking about. "Josh." Maya returns, swallowing hard.

He holds in his hands a large bag of groceries. Stubble rests on his chin, a sign that he hasn't shaved recently. He eyes her with those intense blue eyes and not for the first time, Maya feels a little lightheaded.

"What are you doing here?" Josh asks, not moving, rooted to his spot on the dirty carpet of his dirty apartment building.

"I, um, I..." Maya trails off, suddenly realizing how stupid she is. She came to receive help from a friend, a friend she cares about, and hadn't even thought to apologize for her past words. Stupid. "I just..." the blond looks up at him, big blue eyes hopeful, and juts out her bottom lip just a bit. It's her signature puppy-dog face, and no Matthews (save for Topanga) has ever been able to say " _no"_ to this look.

"Oh, jeez," Josh sighs, "don't look at me like that, gorgeous."

Maya raises a brow, suddenly forgetting her nervousness, "why not?"

"Because," he moves, now, smiling at her softly as he fishes for the keys in his pocket and unlocks his apartment door, "every time you look at me like that, it's 'cause you want something, and you _know_ I can't reject that look." Josh raises a brow as he sets down his groceries, "so, what do you want?" He leans in as he says this, and Maya leans back. After, she's struck by how ironic the movement is; she spent most of their childhood leaning towards him, and he leaning away. Now look at them.

Maya smiles back, but it melts away quickly. "I'm sorry, Josh."

He doesn't look at her, instead taking out his frozen dinners and sticking them in the freezer. "For what?"

"For telling you you'd never amount to anything." Maya spits out. The words taste bitter against her tongue. "I was so angry that day, and you... you were just trying to help. I took my anger out on the wrong person. I'm so, so sorry. What I said was wrong, I hurt you. It was also a flat lie."

She looks up from where she's been staring at the floor, and finds, to her astonishment, Josh looking at her with a smile of amusement gracing his lips, eyes bright. "Maya Penelope Hart," he says, "are you apologizing to me?"

Maya rolls her eyes, "don't flatter yourself, boing."

Josh places a packet of ham he'd bought in his tiny refrigerator, "anything you want, gorgeous." He continues, "I hope you know, though, that I knew you didn't mean it. It hurt for a little bit, but I knew that you were just taking out your anger over your mom and Shawn and school on me. I forgave you a long time ago."

"What?" Maya's head snaps up, but just as quickly, it rolls to the side, relaxing, "you know what? I knew that. How could I not? You're a Matthews, after all."

"That I am, that I am." Josh scratches at the stubble on his cheek, "so, what else did you need, lovely?"

"Well," Maya gives him her look again, "I sort of need... lessons."

"Lessons?" Josh asks, interested, "What type of lessons?"

A cringe from the blond further piques his interest, "ah... dance lessons? Because it turns out I _suck_ at it."

"What are you talking about?" Josh asks, confused, "you're not _terrible_ at dancing. You just..." Josh thinks about his words, before realizing that Maya sort-of _is_ terrible at dancing. He changes tactics, "why the sudden interest in lessons?"

And so, begrudgingly, she explains her situation. "And, y'know, prom is four months away..." she finishes, face burning red in embarrassment. "So, what do you say, boing?" She pushes the mortification aside, "help a senior out, would ya?"

Josh looks at her, pondering her words, before opening a bag of chips.

"Anything for you, gorgeous," he says, and Maya _smiles._

* * *

They have lessons once a week.

On the fifth week, Maya meets Josh's roommate.

Simon Myles isn't at his apartment all that often, Josh explains to Maya during lesson number two. "He hangs out at his sister's a lot... They're twins, I think, and I'm, like, ninety percent sure Simon's dating his sister's roommate."

Simon Myles has green hair and dark skin. He's half-Indian, half German, Maya is quick to learn, and proud of his heritage. On their first meeting, Maya asks him with a slight drawl that gives away her New York City upbringing, "hey, dude?"

"What?"

"Why's your hair green?"

And Simon Myles, because he is Simon Myles, chose to respond with, "why isn't yours?" Before walking out the door (towards his sister's apartment, most likely), and whispering, not-so-softly to Josh, "your girlfriend's rude."

When he is gone, Josh turns to Maya sheepishly, "that _was_ kinda rude, Maya."

She shrugs, "People can't be gems all the time, boing."

He hums. "Yeah," Josh says, "I guess people can't."

* * *

Their lessons are on the roof of Josh's apartment, where they won't bother the neighbors and they won't trip over Josh's thick notebooks. They could've practiced at Maya's place, but her mother and Shawn are the teasing type, and Maya isn't one to willingly submit herself to such things. Neither is Josh. They're both reserved with their relationships, with their interests, and this will probably never change.

The cold February weather has them both decked out in thick, warm clothes, gloves clasped against each other. Josh has a small speaker and his phone plugged in. Maya listens to the song, as she always does, before dancing, and raises an amused brow at Josh. "Lady Antebellum, boing?"

"It's a good song," Josh defends himself, restarting the song and then holding his hand out to her. "It's good for a waltz, anyway."

When she takes his hand, it is through faded yellow gloves and friendly smiles. They're in love, then. They just don't know it. Maya has long since convinced herself she's moved on and he has done the same. They aren't expecting to realize they have long ago fallen head over heels for each other, or that "someday" has maybe come. They are just friends spending time together.

And as they dance, he'll count out loud, "one two three, one two three..." Just for them to hear. He'll pinch her arm when she's not firm enough with her grip, and glare at her when she's _too_ firm.

In the background, Maya hears Lady Antebellum belting out, _" 'cause love only comes every once in a while,"_ and frowns as Josh spins her. "I'm not very good at counting and dancing," she says as she returns to him.

 _"And knocks at your door and throws you a smile."_ Josh tilts his head at her and says, "Don't look at our feet!" When she looks up, he says, "you'll just get tangled up and trip, and fall."

_"And takes every breath..."_

Maya grins up at him, "But you'll fall with me, right?"

He laughs. "Anything for you, gorgeous."

_"... and leaves every scar."_

By the end of the day, Maya has finally mastered her waltz.

* * *

Her mother and Shawn are noticing. This, Maya knows without a doubt. They are coming to a slow and steady realization that Maya's sneaking out once a week and coming back late in the night is something that they should ask about. Soon, they will. They will ask why dancing lessons take so long, and when she says (with total honesty) that it is because she's a terrible dancer, her family will begin to tease her mercilessly.

Riley teases her, in the way only Riley can. "You two would be so _cute."_ She'll chirp, and Isadora will just smile at Maya and mouth _she's right._ Farkle forever chooses to keep his opinions to himself; He's wise in this respect. Lucas rolls his eyes at his girlfriend's shrill shrieks, joining in only when Maya mercilessly teases him. Zay even manages to tease her on her lessons, texting her pickup lines every once in a while for her to use.

"I'm never going to use any of these." Maya tells Zay one evening, while FaceTiming each other. "They suck."

 _"My pride has been mortally wounded. My soul is quivering in the corner, dying. And all, because, of, you."_ Zay spouts of other injuries he's grown, and Maya can't help but laugh at her friend.

"Come home soon, Babineaux."

 _"I'll be in Austin in a couple weeks, actually."_ Zay says, and then, _"I'll be in the Village soon, sunshine. Don't worry about me."_

* * *

"Why do I have to learn to two-step?" Maya asks on her next lesson. He's loading some country-song that she doesn't know.

"Because, gorgeous," Josh says, absentmindedly, "if you can two-step _and_ waltz, you can definitely jitterbug."

"Jitterbug?" Maya asks, eyes bulging out of her head. "Why do I need to learn to _jitterbug?"_

Josh laughs, "I said I'd teach you to dance, didn't I? I taught you the basic waltz, I'm gonna teach you how to two-step, and then I'll teach you the best jitterbug ever."

"Yeah, but, boing, when will I jitterbug? And two-step? This isn't the fifties, and we're not in Texas. The only thing I need is the waltz, slow dance, and line dances, right?" Maya tilts her head.

The song starts to play (something Maya later recognizes as _I'm From the Country),_ and Josh extends a hand to her. She takes it without thinking. "Slow dancing is easy," Josh shrugs, "in my opinion, it isn't even really dancing. Just boring old swaying. And," he adds, "you can two-step to anything."

He begins to lead her in the forwards and backwards motion of the two-step, and she follows hesitantly. She has already gone over the basics with him, but dancing a new dance for the first time is always a hazardous thing. "But, if you really don't want to learn how to two-step..." Josh trails off.

"No!" Maya cries. And then, "er, I mean, um, no. It's fine. Thank you, Josh." She smiles through closed lips, "I mean it. I know you're putting aside a lot to help me."

He swallows.

"Anything for you, gorgeous."

* * *

February quickly turns into March, and Maya learns how to two-step more easily than she learned to waltz. She's climbing the steps to Josh's apartment, knocking lightly, but when he doesn't answer, she knocks a little more. She hears scuffling, and then the door swings open. "Hiya, boing." She smiles, but it quickly fades, because Josh isn't standing in front of her. "Simon?" Maya asks, jaw dropping.

Simon Myles has the look of a man who's been run over by a truck twice, and then kicked by a five year old girl. He stands before her in his boxers, no shirt, green hair hanging in front of his eyes instead of gelled up like it usually is. He holds in his hand a bottle of beer, half empty. Maya gets the sense that this isn't his first one.

"Who the -" inside, the microwave beeps "- are you?"

Maya resists rolling her eyes, "Maya Hart? That blond girl who asked you why your hair was green a few weeks ago?"

There's vague remembrance in Simon Myles's look, now. He says, "oh, Josh's girlfriend." Simon Myles visibly withers at the word _girlfriend._ "Come in, or whatever, I don't really give a crap."

As she steps into the tiny apartment, Maya realizes that Josh's hypothesis about Simon Myles dating his sister's roommate must have been true. She takes a seat on the dinner table, watching Simon Myles in silence. He collapses on the couch and unpauses Netflix; It's an episode of _F.R.I.E.N.D.S.,_ from what Maya can see. After about a minute, she places her tote bag on her lap and pulls out a drawing pad. She takes the packet of markers she keeps in her bag and sits there for a minute, watching Simon Myles in all his heartbreak. "Simon, where's Josh?"

Simon Myles shrugs, "he said he had something to do... for some study he has. SOB's still working hard on his Masters..." Simon Myles turns so that he's facing Maya, "what's he majoring in, again?"

"Psychology." Maya answers promptly. "Minor in music."

The green-haired individual before her nods slowly, before taking a swig of his beer. "How long have you guys been dating?" He asks her. Immediately, the blond looks up from where she had been drawing.

"We're not." Maya breezily responds. "Dating, I mean. We don't even like each other, haven't in years."

Simon Myles squints at her, "wanna beer?"

She almost says _yes_ before remembering that she doesn't do these sort of things any more; No underage drinking, no breaking the law. "Nah, I'm good. You need 'em more than me."

He laughs, "got that right." He pauses his Netflix, showing a very flattering still of Matthew Perry mid-mock salute. Maya is quick to capture it. "Not dating?"

Maya shakes her head but doesn't look up from her drawing.

"But you're _Maya."_ Simon Myles says, like it's some sort of holy title.

"Yeah... so?" She asks. He takes another sip of his beer.

"You're the _reason,"_ Simon Myles begins, "that Joshua Matthews, my freakin' roommate, hasn't had a girlfriend in _five f-"_ He accidentally unpauses the t.v., causing a loud sound to break his words. He pauses it again, and continues, _"-years._ Because of _you._ And you're tellin' me you guys don't like each other?" Simon Myles raises a brow, "how many years has it been since you've had an actual boyfriend?"

Maya opens her mouth in shock, forgetting her drawing. She had been halfway through coloring in the scene, but it's abandoned, now. "Um, ah," she racks her brain, but nothing but her ten-date relationship in sophomore year with Paul Janyseck and occasional dances with Zay (and, she guesses, Alessandro) come to mind. "Two or three years?"

Simon Myles leans back onto the couch, pleased with Maya's response. "There you go. You guys should date." He gets up and throws his beer in the trash can before grabbing out of the fridge, of all things, a carton of milk and a whole chocolate cake. Upon seeing Maya's surprised face, he says, "I might've just been dumped, but I know my limits." He sits down on the couch again. "How old are you?"

She blinks. "Turned nineteen a few months ago."

"Oh." Suddenly, Simon Myles seems to understand why they haven't been dating for the past five years. "Well, it isn't illegal or anything. Wait..." Simon Myles's eyes widen as he shoves chocolate cake into his mouth, "isn't Josh's birthday coming up?"

Maya's eyes widen too. "Oh my God," she says, "I forgot about that!" She checks her calendar, "it's... it's this Friday."

"Damn," Simon Myles looks at Maya through that heartbroken face of his. "My girlfriend forgot to stay in love with me and cheated on me," he says, "and you forgot Josh's birthday. Psh. And you girls say _we're_ the forgetful ones."

And as he continues his episode of _F.R.I.E.N.D.S,_ heartbroken and sad, well, Maya just doesn't have the heart to correct him.

* * *

Josh comes back ten minutes later, out of breath from running. He sucks once on his inhaler (asthma's crap, as he often says) before speaking, "I'm really, _really_ sorry, Maya. I was out trying to buy some more pens because all the ones here suddenly chose to disappear or stop working, and, and then I got a coffee for me and bought some more hair dye for Simon 'cause he asked me to and then in the store as I was checking out I saw this girl who asked me out a few weeks ago and I awkwardly rejected her because I didn't like her and, and-"

"Boing, calm down!" Maya laughs, "I was fine. Simon and I talked, right, Simon?"

Without looking at them, Simon says, "your girlfriend's not so bad, Matthews." They're about to correct Simon, when he adds, "humor the brokenhearted, man."

And so, with soft smiles, Josh says, "yeah. She's not bad at all."

* * *

The jitterbug is infinitely harder than waltzes and two-steps.

They dance to a song that Maya recognizes, for once. It's one of her and Josh's personal favorites: Candlelight by Relient K. They sing to it once Maya has the basics, dancing oh-so-slowly.

"Josh," Maya tells him after he's changed the lyrics to the song, "why."

He continues to mess around with the lyrics anyway, and eventually, they double down in laughter, forgetting the dance for a change. "Alright, fine," he says, "I'll stop, now."

"Oh, thank the heavens," Maya exclaims, "you were killing me slowly with those horrible renditions of one of my favorite songs."

When he looks at her, though, he knows she doesn't mean it.

And she does, too.

* * *

**lionhart _has added_ r1leysw0rld, georgestraitlover99, lordminkus, smackl3thesmart, _and_ isaiahbabineuax _to "operation boing"._**

**lionhart:** josh's birthday is tHIS FRIDAY

 **r1leysw0rld:** I KNOW MY UNCLE IS GONNA BE TWENTY-TWO WHAT AN OLD POOP

 **smackl3thesmart:** Why should I care?

 **lordminkus:** Considering we're seniors-almost-graduating-college, could we stop using phrases like "old poop" and randomly capitalizing our words?

 **isaiahbabnieux:** don't be such a grownup bruh

 **r1leysw0rld:** ZAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

 **isaiahbabineux:** hey cutie ;)

 **smackl3thesmart:** Hello, Zay. How're you doing?

 **isaiahbabineux:** good, hows about u girl ;))))))

 **smackl3thesmart:** Do not hit on me in the same group chat as my boyfriend.

 **lordminkus:** Okay... so, Maya, why are we in this group chat that is very strangely titled "operation boing"?

 **r1leysw0rld:** do you LIKE my uncle again?

 **georgestraighlover99:** Riley ships y'all

 **isaiahbabineaux:** BRO

 **lordminkus:** BRO

 **georgestraitlover99:** YO

 **lionhart:** it's been six years and i'm still not over ur username.

 **isaiahbabineux:** don't diss the King of Country

 **georgestraitlover99:** ^^

 **smackl3thesmart:** I fear we're getting off topic.

Maya glances up from her phone and takes a bite to eat, before glancing back down at the ongoing group chat. She can't help thinking that she should have gotten something for Josh on her own, without consulting with her friends. Oh, well. Too late now.

Crap. Already ten messaged have streamed in her absence from the group chat.

 **lionhart:** As much as I love talking about riles and huckleberry's stupid, stupid heart eyes, we have more pressing matters: I forgot Josh's birthday, I have two days to find him something, what do I do?

 **georgestraitlover99:** pray he doesn't get as angry as you do when someone forgets your birthday

 **lionhart:** u had that coming

 **r1leysw0rld:** she's right, sweetie

 **georgestraitlover99:**... yeah. yeah I did.

 **smackl3thesmart:** The answer to your predicament is right in front of you, my beautiful blond friend.

 **lordminkus:** My wonderful girlfriend is right.

 **r1leysw0rld:** ARE YOU ALL THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING

 **georgestraitlover99:** that I should have bought a gold ring and not a silver one?

 **r1leysw0rld:** huh?

 **smackl3thesmart:** What?

 **lionhart:** xcuse me?

 **lordminkus:** What are you talking about?

 **isaiahbabineux:** ignore my fellow George Strait lover. What u need to do, sunshine, is obvious. ur a good cook, right?

 **lionhart:**... u guys are geniuses.

 **smackl3thesmart:** We know. Text if you need any help. Gotta go study for finals.

**smackle3thesmart _has left the conversation._**

**lordminkus:** Same goes for me. Plus, I have to go to some fancy meeting with my dad. Peace, guys.

**lord minkus _has left the conversation._**

**georgestraitlover99:** I hope it works out, Maya. Gotta go help my mom with dinner. She's already called me, like, five times.

**georgestraitlover99 _has left the conversation._**

**r1leysw0rld:** Love you sweets! Still hanging out Sunday?

 **lionhart:** always. see u tomorrow bestie

 **r1eysw0rld:** see you!

**r1leysw0rld _has left the conversation._**

**isaiahbabineaux:** make ur roast beef. it's super good, sister.

 **lionhart:** u think?

 **isaiahbabineux:** you know that saying "a way to a man's heart is to his stomach"? it's true. so true.

 **lionhart:** i don't want to make josh love me, zay

 **isaiahbabineux:** too late, fam. too late.

**isaiahbabineux _has left the conversation._**

Maya raises her head from her phone.

"Over dramatic piece of crap," she mutters.

* * *

"Hey, boing!" Maya chirps over the phone on Thursday afternoon.

 _"Hello, gorgeous,"_ Josh greets back, voice staticy. _"What do you need?"_

"First off, happy early birthday, m'friend," she grins, though he can't see her, "and second, you going out tomorrow?"

_"Uh, no, actually. Twenty-one was a big one, but tomorrow I just have lunch with Cory and the family, like, four FaceTimes, and then I go home to study."_

Maya hums, "is the studying something that has to be done?"

A beat.

_"... Not really. It's just that I want to get started on things, y'know? And I didn't really want a big thing. Cory and Riley wanted a large dinner, but they're really overwhelming sometimes... Lucky for me, Topanga and Auggie fended them off."_

The blond feels her heart sink. "O-oh. Okay. Well, then, I hope you have a really awesome day tomorrow."

 _"Wait a second!"_ Josh says quickly, _"what were you thinking?"_

"Well," Maya gathers her words, "it wouldn't be a big thing, just you and I and probably Simon since he's at yours from now on, and whoever else you wanted. I was thinking of coming over and cooking you dinner?"

Josh's voice crackled over the line, _"you can cook?"_

She laughs, "well, yeah. Back when my mom was a waitress at the diner, I had to fend for myself. She'd leave me her big book of cooking. And eventually I got good at experimenting. I even have some original recipes." She bites her lip, waiting for a response.

_"Whoa, original recipes?"_

Well. She wasn't expecting this response. "Um, yes?"

Sensing her discomfort, Josh amends his almost rude statement, _"sorry, sorry. I don't know why that line came out that way. I guess I just didn't expect to find out two things about you in one phone call."_ He sucks in a breath, and she can hear him break out into a smile. _"I'd really like it if we could hang out tomorrow, Maya. When's good for you?"_

She checks her calendar, "um, I have classes til, like, two, but then I have to teach art to kids til four and I have an appointment with my hair stylist at four thirty. How does five thirty sound?"

He laughs, _"busy girl. That sounds perfect, though. I'll see you tomorrow, gorgeous."_

"See you tomorrow, boing."

* * *

As seniors, Maya breezes through high school. When she was a freshman, Maya would have sworn she'd never find high school easy. Now, it's different. Studies are hell, but she rules the school. She's not mean to the freshman (she remembers, all too well, her first year in the hell hole), helps them out occasionally, stands up for them when a dumb sophomore or arrogant junior gets funny ideas.

During lunch break, she sits in between Isadora and Lucas, munching on her salad quietly. Too quietly, apparently, for the rest of them. "What's up?" Lucas asks her.

Without looking up, she quips, "your buzz cut is bothering me."

Immediately, she regrets the jab.

Lucas sighs. He's signed up for the army, is going to go in a month after graduation, and has buzzed his hair already (to get in the right mindset, he'd said). Everyone else shifts, uncomfortable. The subject of Lucas's going away, not to college to study to become a veterinarian like he'd always said he'd do, but to the army (where he will still study the subject, Lucas says), is something that he and Riley argued about for about a month and a half. It's a sore point in their relationship.

_("I want to give back to my country," Lucas had explained when he had told them [save for Riley, who already knew] what he'd done. "I want to help."_

_"You'd help as veterinarian!" Farkle had objected, not understanding._

_"Indeed." Isadora had agreed._

_"See," Riley interjected, "you don't have to go."_

_"This is something I feel called to do," Lucas had begun to get angry, "why can't anyone understand that?"_

_"I do."_

_The voice was Zay's._

_"I do, too."_

_That one was Maya's._

_"You wanna give back to your community." Zay expanded, "you want to give back to your_ country. _It's what my brother's doing, it's what my uncle did before him, and my grandpa before him."_

_Maya nodded, "and why I teach kids who get in a lot of trouble art after school. We feel called to do it, so we do."_

_"But your giving back doesn't put you in danger!" Riley feverently objected._

_Maya had glared, eyes narrowed, "you think I'm not in danger, teaching kids who dealt drugs, whose parents are ex members of gangs?"_

_Zay said, "you can't push down your calling. No matter how dangerous it is, no matter how stupid or rash. It ain't right. It ain't healthy. In fact, I don't know, but -to me at least- pushing down your calling is what's dangerous. Not following it. I mean," he had stared at Riley, and Isadora, and Farkle, "this is still America, right? Land of the free, home of the brave?"_

_"Because of the brave, especially," Maya added to Zay's monologue, and the group had fallen momentarily silent._

_"I still don't see-" Isadora began, but Lucas cut her off._

_"I have to go," he had said, and they saw him trying to hold back his frustration. Without another word, he had stormed out of the building.)_

"What's really up?" Isadora asks, when Lucas stares at his food silently.

Maya finishes her salad and gets to work on her Pepsi, "nothin', actually. Just thinking about the dinner for Josh tonight."

She almost regrets telling them she's making a full-fledged dinner for Josh (and Simon Myles), because the teasing that ensues is merciless. "Josh and Maya sitting in a tree," Lucas begins quietly.

"Oh, I know this!" Isadora almost shouts, "it goes, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Farkle bites his bottom lip. "First comes looooove," he draws the word out, "and then-"

"Marriage!" Riley gets a dreamy look to her eyes. Lucas glances at her softly. Worriedly.

"And then," Lucas starts to end it, "comes the-"

"Shut. Up." Maya says, refraining from cursing for Riley's sake. While Riley isn't completely innocent anymore, she's still completely against foul language. "It's not like that."

"Yes, it is," Riley says matter-of-factly. "You're gonna marry my uncle Josh."

"I thought you were against that idea?" Maya asks.

"In _sixth grade."_ Riley says. "Not as a senior. Marry whoever you want."

The rest of the group nods. Farkle opens his mouth to say something, but the bell rings, saving Maya from further torment. "Gotta blast!" She chirps, and walks briskly to the trash can.

* * *

"What are you drawing, Ms. Hart?" The voice belongs to twelve-year-old Damaris. Her dark skin and thick eyebrows stare at Maya's drawing, a painting of the New York City skyline.

"A painting," Maya says. "How is your picture for your mama going, Damaris?"

"Good!" Damaris promptly returns. She pulls out a very pretty abstract finger painting. "Do you think she will like it?" Damaris talks slowly, piecing together the sentence with difficulty. Maya beams at her.

"I know she will."

Damaris _smiles._

* * *

"Maya, honey, whatcha lookin' for today, sweetheart?" Anna asks, playing with Maya's long blond hair. She, in turn, sits facing the long mirror of the salon, tilting her head. "You gonna let me cut it?"

As always, Maya shakes her head. "Nah, but I was thinking about a change. How about..." she ducks her head, "dyeing it?"

Anna's hands still, before coming up and clapping together. "Are you serious right now? Because if you are, I think rainbow would look _so_ cute on you, like, pastel rainbow though, not super bright. Or, or maybe just a subtle laven-"

"I was thinking dip dye, actually, Anna," Maya gently interrupts, "pastel blue and a light pink. Can you do it?"

Anna hums, her almond eyes drinking in Maya's hair and imagining the outcome. " 'Course I can, hon," Anna eventually says, grinning, "And you'll look _awesome."_

* * *

They sit on the roof, in the little patio that's set up there that no one ever uses.

Simon Myles is three floors down, watching some episode of _Bob's Burgers_ that Maya's never seen, but that's okay; She can always catch herself up on Netflix later. They had asked him if he'd wanted to come upstairs after dinner, but he'd turned them down, saying that he couldn't bear to come in-between his otp.

"OTP?" Josh had asked him as he'd put on his coat and a beanie.

"Joshaya, that's what I'm calling it." Simon Myles had informed them, as he'd shamelessly collapsed onto the couch in the middle of the living room.

"You need a hobby," Maya had said as she'd copied Josh. She handed him a tub of cake and two spoons. In her hands she had two mugs and a thermos full of hot chocolate.

Simon Myles had turned to look at her, green hair falling in his eyes, "what do you suggest, precious? I'm in the middle of my last year of school, loaded down with homework, what should I do?"

"You're not loaded down with homework right now," Maya had pointed out. "What are you majoring in?"

He'd scrunched up his nose, "photography."

Maya's eyes had lit up, and Josh had smiled on reflex; He could see the plan in her eyes. She had set down the mugs and stuck a hand in her giant tote bag. Josh idly wondered why Maya didn't simply carry a backpack. He would have to ask, later. "Here," Maya said, handing a card to Simon Myles. He took it slowly. "My dad, Shawn, he's a wicked talented photographer. Call him, right now. Tell him you know me and that I think it would be great if he could take you to a few of his shoots, to watch. That's not just a hobby, man. That's hands-on experience."

When Simon Myles didn't immediately move, Maya had narrowed her eyes at him. It was then and only then that he'd taken his beat-up Galaxy-something out of his pocket and called the number printed on the card. "Hello, is this Shawn Hunter?" Simon Myles got up from the couch. "Yeah, this is Simon Myles..."

And so, after Maya successfully managed to put Simon Myles on the road to health, they take the three story hike to the roof, where she and Josh sit, in silence, for a few minutes, each sipping the hot chocolate she had poured for them.

The silence should bother them; with the history that lies between them, it shouldn't feel comfortable, but this history has been, for the most part, resolved. It was resolved one cold night, up on a mountain, a dead fire behind them, one fifteen-year-old star of sheer brilliance and one seventeen-almost-eighteen-year-old miracle holding hands without really knowing why. "The long game", they'd dubbed it. The "someday" of all "somedays".

Sometimes, though, Maya is terrified that Josh has forgotten. They don't "someday" each other whenever they see each other (because, let's face it, that had been slightly cringey). But then, they don't need to, usually that word is etched into their wrists, their eyes, when they see each other, obvious to the entire world, a display of promises held onto throughout the years.

But that doesn't mean the fear goes away. The fear that maybe Maya's just imagining things, and, does Josh really like her? Does _she_ really like Josh?

It's in moments like these, though, that that answer is strikingly obvious. Of course they like each other. Of course nineteen-year-old Maya still likes Josh. And of course twenty-one (wait, no, twenty-two) year-old Josh still likes Maya. How she knows this is in the way the silence settles around them, warm and inviting. She sits with her feet on the little coffee table before them, and after Josh finishes his hot chocolate, he lowers himself without thinking onto Maya's lap, his face resting there as he stares up at her from an angle that Maya _knows_ is not flattering.

Josh reaches up and gently touches the new blue-and-pink strands of hair that float down the blond, and smiles. When she cranes her neck to look down at him, he catches sight of the tattoo she has the back of it; He has seen it before, of course, multiple times, but every time he does it still somehow surprises him. It's a simple tattoo, a semicolon, a simple **;** on the back of her neck.

 _("The semicolon project."_ She had told him once, her face cracked in the darkness, _"a semicolon is used when a writer could've ended a sentence, but chose to continue. Me -and everybody else participating in the semicolon project- wanted to end our lives at one point."_ She looked at him, her eyes shining, and he had remembered feeling his heart ache. _"We didn't.")_

As Maya glances down at Josh, she can see the way his Adam's apple moves up and down, the way his eyes crinkle in concentration as he touches her hair, before the hand falls down to cover his face. "Don't look at me, gorgeous," Josh mumbles.

"What?" Maya asks, confused. She takes his beanie, which has fallen off his head, and places it next to her before running her fingers through his hair. He sighs, content, but answers her question nonetheless.

"I'm so _old,"_ Josh explains. "It's gross."

"Ah, yes, here I am, a man who could be my father lying on my lap. What a scandal." Maya says in mock-agreement. "That's a real healthy mental state for a psychologist-to-be, boing."

Josh lifts his hands and looks up at her, "I'm still your boing?" He asks, hopeful.

She doesn't hesitate, "you're always my boing."

And Josh _smiles._

* * *

April rolls around slowly, and she receives acceptance letters from places she was sure would give her a solid _n-o, no._ But Maya had sent out said applications anyway, because her mother and Shawn and Riley and everybody else had been confident she'd get accepted. Somewhere along the way Maya and Josh agreed that she didn't need dance lessons anymore, and that their free-time would be better devoted to getting ready for finals. They still hang out, and text so much it's ungodly, but Maya practices dancing with Shawn, now.

(It's not really the same, but Shawn's not too shabby.)

In mid-April, Riley and Lucas have made up, after two long conversations and a food fight, and are, of course, going together to the prom.

Farkle and Isadora have long had their college acceptance letters, having sent them out early on. They could have, of course, graduated two years ago, but had chosen to wait until they were the legal age for adulthood, opting instead for four years of hell with their high school friends. They broke up, Isadora and Farkle, about a week and a half ago; Maya still isn't completely sure why.

And so, Isadora is to go with Zay, who has promised to be back in time for the glorious prom-night. Farkle is to go with a cute girl by the name of Naomi, with pixie-cut hair, skin the color of dark chocolate, and sharp almond eyes.

"Why do you think they split?" Maya asks Zay on the phone one day. "Farkle and Isa, I mean."

_"From what Farkle told me, it was a long time coming."_

"But none of us even saw this happening!" Maya objects, making a disgusted face at the empty canvas before her. "That's bull."

 _"Not really,"_ Zay objects. There's a rustling sound, and, mouth full of food, he continues: _"How much do we really know about Farkle and Isa's relationship, really? I mean, we know they've slept with each other, but only because Isa and Farkle told you and I when we were driving their drunk butts home that one time they tried to be high school idiots. Other than that and the fact that Isa and Farkle once loved each other, we don't know much else, because they haven't told us much else."_

"You're saying that they purposely kept their relationship to themselves?" Maya asks, as she draws the outline of a face onto the canvas. "Why would they do that?"

_"Because that's what couples do, honeynuggets. They keep most aspects of their relationship to themselves. Even friendships do that. I mean, when you and I got arrested for a crime we didn't commit, we never told no one but Ms. Topanga, right? Why? Because it was our relationship, our secret. Something for us to keep to ourselves. I bet you and Riley don't go blabbing to everyone about everything y'all have been through. You ain't got your own t.v. show or anything. Same with Riles and Friar's relationship."_

Maya nods, though her friend can't see her. "So, what? Isa and Farkle fell out of love?"

_"I personally think there's more to it than that. Like I said, Farkle told me this was a long time coming. It's probably why Isa and Farkle are so okay with hanging out together, from what you've told me. I obviously can't judge for myself here."_

"Yeah, no, you're right," she draws eyes onto the face, and then a hooked nose. "Isa said that it was mutual, and Farkle's statement compliments hers. But what more is there?"

 _"Honestly?"_ Zay sucks in a breath, making the line crackle. _"I think Farkle's in love with someone else, and realized it slowly, and fell out of love with Isa. I think she fell out of love with him naturally, without loving anyone else, though. But that's just a theory, right? I'm not there to test it."_

"Whoa, wait, really?" Maya stops painting, not wanting to smudge her art. "Who?"

_"Why don't you watch the great Minkus and find out? Or get that boyfriend of yours to help out? He's a psychology major, right?"_

"And music minor, yeah," Maya doesn't bother to correct Zay's 'boyfriend' line; Zay is Zay, and he won't change anytime soon.

 _"Even better, baby cakes. A musician's good at getting an emotional read on people. Next time he's around, he'll get to the bottom of things."_ Someone calls his name then, and he says, _"I gotta go -Butch is calling for end of lunch break. See you soon, girl."_

"Love you, hunkalicious."

_"Love you back."_

* * *

It is two days after prom (which went very, very nicely; No one laughed at her, and though she went stag, she danced with an overwhelming amount of boys, and there was an overall lack of embarrassment in general) when Maya and her friends are at Riley's house, acceptance letters in hand (they haven't revealed where they're going yet, they decided to wait til they were all together). "I'll go first," Riley says. Her short hair (she's cut it; It reaches her shoulders now) is pulled back out of her face, and she smiles at them all, radiant as she always is. "Unless someone else would like to?"

"Whatever you want, sweetheart." Maya nudges her.

Riley tilts her head, affection in her gaze, "thanks, peaches." She turns to her friends and, with a voice that Riley's been using more and more lately (the voice that Mr. Matthews uses when he teaches, that uncle Eric uses when he's on t.v.), says, "I'm going to NYU to study political science." This is expected: Riley's been interested in politics since seventh grade, but it really took a serious turn sophomore year. And NYU has a good program. They're lucky to have her.

"Cambridge." This is Isadora; She has a pleased look on her face, that sort-of "I'm above you" expression that she had first had when she'd met them all, but it disappears quickly, replaced by a look of sheer joy that makes Isa look like a freshman, not a graduating-in-one-week senior. "Natural and applied sciences." Maya collapses against Isadora, clapping loudly.

"Isa, Isa, Isa, Isa!" She shouts, "Go Smackle!" and Isadora sort-of flinches away from her. "Oh, sorry," Maya grimaces, apologetic, and moves away.

"It's okay," the girl says quietly. "And thank you."

"Harvard!" Farkle spits out, "Law and business. Best way to take over the world and all that." Lucas claps him on the shoulder, Zay mutters something about crazy white boys, and then the laughing dies down.

"I'll go," Lucas says, smiling at Maya. "I'm going to A&M, in College Station, Texas. They have a program there for people who want to enter the military. I'm gonna study there to become a vet. They have one of the best veterinary programs in the state." Riley leans her head on Lucas's shoulder, content.

"My boyfriend's gonna be an animal-saver," she sighs, heart-eyed. Zay gags.

"And your best friend," Maya begins, "is going to the Royal College of Art in London, England, UK, Europe, the World."

Silence.

And then, cheers, applause, tears, and happiness.

("Y'all don't want to hear about me?" Zay asks afterwards. "What about you?" Farkle returns. "I'm going to Baylor," Zay winks. "To study anthropology. And I'm also still gonna lift pretty girls.")

* * *

"I have something to tell you." Maya says, at their graduation dinner. Their, being Farkle, Lucas, Isadora, Riley, and her. Zay's ballet is in town this week, perfectly coinciding with graduation, so he's there, too.

She is, however, speaking to Joshua Matthews. His dark red dress shirt is tucked into khaki pants and his hair is slicked back in a sort-of modern looking 40s hairstyle. "What's up?"

"I'm leaving in two months," Maya begins, "y'know, for university, and-"

He laughs, "university? Is that what we're calling it, now?"

She shrugs, "it's what it's called in England, and I'm going to England, so..." She takes a breath, "anyway, I have this whole plan, y'know? Of things I want to do, and one of them is go to the very top of the Empire State Building and paint how people look from all the way up there, and another is to get another tattoo, and I was wondering if you-" Maya cuts herself off, noticing how Josh's expression has gone from content and happy to upset and extremely-very-not-amused. "What's wrong?" She asks, reaching out to touch his arm. He flinches away.

"You're going to England?" Josh asks her after a moment. In the darkness of their rooftop-party, his eyes look black. _Danger,_ Maya dimly registers. Her back straightens, and her jaw sets.

She has always liked a little danger.

"I am." Maya returns, taking a step forward. She tilts her head up, glad for the heels that make her almost as tall as him. Meeting his eyes with a challenge, she says, "I told you that."

"No, Maya, you didn't." He sucks in a breath. In the background, Lucas and Riley are dancing -they have just gotten engaged. (It turns out that Lucas bought a ring months ago, and had been waiting until graduation to propose. They don't have the details worked out yet, but they are happy, and that's enough for them.) Cory is dancing with Ava, and Topanga is dancing with Shawn. Zay has swept his mother out onto the makeshift dance floor, but neither Maya nor Josh take in these precious moments. "You failed to mention you were going to... to f-" He runs a hand through his hair, leaving it disheveled. So much for the 40s. "-to _England_ for college."

"Shut up, I so did." Maya's lips part into a disbelieving scoff. "I said, _Josh, I'm going to the Royal College of Arts,_ and you, you ass, said _that's so great, gorgeous, I'm so happy for you!_ So don't lie to me, Joshua Gabriel Matthews, because I did."

He shakes his head. Her voice has risen a fraction, and his voice meets hers. They're at regular speaking volume now. Farkle and his father look over with concern, but don't intervene with the disagreement at hand. "No, you didn't, Maya, you said you were going to the Royal College of Arts, but you didn't ever mention that this college is in _England._ I mean, _really?"_

And then they are yelling, voices full of fury and emotions that haven't been spoken out of nothing else but fear. Riley moves to intervene when the yelling turns to incomprehensible screaming, but Cory holds her back with a subtle shake of his head. Topanga puts her arm around Katy, who looks at the scene bazarley. Shawn clears his throat awkwardly next to the Minkus family, who are all, along with Isadora, extremely very concerned. Zay is the calmest of them all. He had foreseen this argument ages ago, and now sips his drink that may-or-may-not-be wine calmly next to his mother and four siblings (he has six, but the fifth one is in college in Texas, with his father, and the sixth one is a Navy SEAL).

Eventually, the argument swings back around to its original point. Maya's face is small and red with fury, bright as a tomato, and his is blue from the effort of trying not throw himself off the building.

 _"It's my life!_ " Maya screams, throwing her arms up to hit him.

He grabs her hands roughly and pushes them downwards. Letting go, Josh responds with, _"It affects me, too!"_

He stalks out the door and shuts it with a loud noise, his footsteps echoing as he runs down the stairs.

It takes ten seconds for Maya to sprint after him, taking off her heels so she can run faster.

* * *

"You don't _get_ to walk away from me, Josh." She spits at him when she finds him, at a gas station two miles from Riley's apartment building, an unlit cigarette in one hand and a cheap beer in the other, seated on a bench, watching cars drive buy. "You don't _ever_ walk away from me. Not ever."

His head is down, and he doesn't raise it, just lets her berate him and scold him. He stares at the cigarette until her pale hand reaches out and snatches it from his grasp. Gone in an instant. "Why can't you just be happy for me, huh? _Why?_ I worked _so_ hard for this. I didn't even want to _apply_ at first, because I was _so scared._ I was terrified. But I _did,_ and I got accepted, and not only that, but I won a couple scholarships, I _earned_ a couple scholarships. And you can't find it in your damn self to be even mildly happy?"

And he finds himself saying, "I'm always happy for you, gorgeous."

(She doesn't expect his voice to crack, to ever-so-slightly waver.

He doesn't expect her to notice.)

She kneels, so that she's at his height level with him, and places a gentle finger underneath his chin. Cautiously, Maya raises his face to meet her eyes, and she feels herself go a little weak at the sight of Joshua Gabriel Matthews' red-rimmed eyes. "Then why are you crying?"

He raises his head, to look into hers, dark blue against light blue. They gaze at each other for a few moments before Maya understands. Her hands come up to caress his cheeks, and then she speaks, her tone almost startled, her voice softer than Josh has ever known it to be.

 _"Oh."_ She says, and when she kisses his forehead, Josh knows she understands.

* * *

"Do you really not remember?" Riley asks Maya, a few days later, and the blond finds herself shaking her head. Riley huffs, "A billion years ago, when Josh got accepted into NYU, you jumped on his back and demanded to know whether he got accepted or not. He told you it was his life..." The brunette waits to see if her best friend remembers.

Her best friend does.

"... and I said it affected me, too." Maya finishes.

Riley beams at her.

* * *

Josh graduates college with a masters, but he's never been one for wild partying (he parties a lot freshman year of college, but after that he was _done),_ and so instead everyone just goes out to a wickedly fancy restaurant. "Hi." He says to Maya that evening, all decked out in a suit and tie. "I didn't see you after the ceremony. Cory said you and Riley had to bolt, unexpectedly?"

Maya nods, her lips pursed. "Riley and Lucas had a thing that came up." She doesn't expand any further, and he doesn't push. "I'm super happy for you, Josh." She grins, "like, _super_ happy. You have no idea." She ducks her head, and he mirrors her. She reaches out and hooks her arm through his as they walk into the restaurant. "What's next?"

He's been asked that question a lot lately, and he comes prepared to answer her. "I'm staying here. I figure, if I want to make it big in music, I can do it here. Plus, there's a lot of places looking for a fresh psychologist like me." He winks at her, and she shoves him. "Are you still swinging by tomorrow? To say bye to Simon, at least."

Maya nods, firmly. "At least for Simon."

* * *

"Maya." Simon Myles says when he opens the door to greet her, about a month later. She'd visited two weeks earlier, but hadn't had time to stop bye again until today.

"Simon," Maya greets him with a smirk. "You're wearing clothes."

She says this with satisfaction, and he nods, "it's 'cause I care." He informs her, grinning. He opens the door wide, to reveal boxes stacked everywhere. "I was actually about to see this company your dad hooked me up with." He informs her.

"Ah," Maya nods, "hence the clothes."

"You saw right through me." Simon Myles cracks a rare smile. "Josh is upstairs." He closes the door behind him, "hey, when are you leaving for college?"

"I leave August tenth." Maya returns, and she sees him still.

"Today's August first." He says.

Maya scuffs her shoe against the carpet, "yeah."

"So this is the last time we'll see each other for a while?"

Again, Maya says, "yeah."

Simon Myles nods, turning around slowly to face her. "Huh." He narrows his brown eyes, and his deep green hair shakes as he rocks back on his heels. "Well, what do you know?" Simon Myles extends a hand, and she reaches out to shake it. "It was nice to befriend you, Hart."

She tilts her head, "it was nice to befriend _you,_ Myles." He starts to walk away, but she suddenly remembers an old question he never really answered. "Simon!" She calls, and he spins around, one fit on the staircase, one hand on the railing. "You never told me: Why _is_ your hair green?"

He laughs, "why is yours blue and pink?"

Maya blinks. "Touche," she finds herself saying, "touche."

* * *

The sun is setting when she treks up to the roof. Stepping out onto the top of the building, she breathes in the suffocating, hot, humid Manhattan air, and she eyes Josh lying on that familiar couch, scribbling in a book.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Maya asks him, by way of greeting. He glances up at her before casually shutting his book.

"Just messing around with a song," Josh shrugs, scooting over on the couch for her. She sits next to him, listening to the music streaming from his phone. The silence settles around them, surprisingly thick, almost matching the muggy air. It's Josh who breaks the silence, putting the book down and standing. "Dance with me?"

Maya hesitates for only a fraction of a second, before letting him pull her up, and sweeping her into a dance. They're silent for almost half the song, before Josh says, "so, ten days, huh?"

Her lips form an almost straight line, "ten days." She looks up at him, and he sees a little insecurity in her eyes, a little fear. He doesn't like it.

"Hey," Josh says, gently, "you're going to be fantastic up there."

"I know I am." Maya shrugs. "It's not that. It's just... I'm going to miss you." Quickly, not wanting the atmosphere to grow awkward once again, she adds, "and everyone else."

But it's too late, Maya dimly realizes as she stares at Josh. He's giving her that look, that same look he gave her the night of her graduation, and she finds herself staring back with an expression she's sure matches it. "Do you remember..." he begins, clearing his throat. Another song starts, and she recognizes it as Photograph by Ed Sheeran. "Do you remember that ski lodge?"

Mutely, she nods.

"Do you remember what we talked about? About... about the possibility of _someday?_ I, I really thought that someday had come. You know? Especially when you started coming around here more often. And, I mean, I don't know why I didn't ask you sooner, don't know why I didn't end this ridiculously long -and frankly, sometimes _exhausting-_ game. It's like when I was seventeen, and I let you hold my hand, and I had no idea why I let you, why I ran my thumb over your knuckles or anything like that. But I think... I think I understand now, at least a little bit." He gazes at her, like she means absolutely everything to him, and Maya, for a moment, can't breath. "It wasn't our time then. Maybe it still isn't." Josh sucks in a breath, "but someday... maybe it will be."

She stares at him, and he stares back with a small smile on his face. His blue eyes shine as he continues, "I do want you to know, though, that no matter what, I have been, and still am, in-"

"-Josh," Maya whispers to him, and he stops, "Josh, don't say it."

He stops, "what?"

"If you finish that sentence, I won't be able to leave." Maya tells him, "I am weak. So weak." It's her play at being funny, at lightening the mood, but it doesn't work.

"You're the strongest woman I know," Josh says.

"Not when it comes to you," Maya shakes her head, "not when it comes to you, or Riley, or my mom or Shawn or Zay. When it comes to all of you... I am weak." Maya leans her head against his chest, and he pulls her close to him, his arms tightening around her as he absorbs her words. "Boing?" The blond tentatively says. He hums to show he's listening. "I do know, though. I do know." She pauses, "do you-"

"Yeah," Josh says, because he understands what she's trying to tell him. "Yeah, gorgeous. I know."

He kisses the top of her head, and she wraps her arms around his middle, and they stay like that until the sun sets.

* * *

Everybody has some mild idea of why Josh is just as distraught as Riley when the group goes to leave Maya and Isadora at the airport. The girls are taking the same airplane to England, before going their separate ways. He stands off to the side as Maya and Isadora say goodbye to their friends, his nails digging painfully into his palms.

"Josh," Cory begins, and Josh glances up at him quickly, a mixture of pain and happiness in his eyes that Cory didn't know was possible. Cory's words die on his tongue; He knew Josh liked Maya. He didn't know Josh loved her. "She'll be fine." Cory says instead.

"She'll be more than fine," Josh returns. Maya turns to him, and he walks up to her, tucking a strand of her pink and blue and blond hair behind her ear. "You're going to be fantastic, gorgeous." He tells her, "you already are."

She smiles at him, uncharacteristically shy and quiet, but excited at the same time. "I'll miss you."

"I'll call you."

She nudges him, "you better." And then, very quietly, she adds, "I'm still playing, you know. The long game."

Josh smiles, a just-barely-there thing that manages to meet his eyes. "Me, too." He kisses her forehead, and she turns, waving one last time to her friends before she and Isadora weave through crowds, almost disappearing. He loses sight of her for an instant, and Josh feels a weight drop in his stomach. He can't leave it like this. He can't say goodbye like this. After all they've been through, after all they've come to mean to each other, the goodbye can't be this... this _anticlimactic._

He catches sight of her again.

 _Oh,_ he thinks, _what the hell._ He breaks out into a run, calling her name, and in the dirty Laguardia airport, some cops turn and eye him suspiciously, but he doesn't care. "Maya!" He cries, and she turns, surprise etched into her features. "Maya, gorgeous," he says once he reaches her, and she drops her bags as he sweeps her off her feet and spins her around. "Please, let me-"

Before he can finish, her lips come crashing into his, and he feels one of her hands come up to wipe away the tears he'd shed earlier. He does the same as he puts her down, the other hand coming to rest on her shoulder, where her new tattoo is (he'd gone with her to get it, just as he'd gone with her to the Empire State Building) lies. The kiss is by far the best kiss either of them have ever had, but all Maya really remembers is the feeling she gets, an overwhelming peace and happiness. When they pull away from each other, Josh leans his forehead against hers and whispers, "go catch your flight, gorgeous."

Her last words to him before Isadora pulls them both towards the gate is, "I already have, boing. I already have."

* * *

The Royal College of Arts is challenging, but so worth it, and Maya takes to it very well, though she doesn't really have time to socialize. She's busy almost all the time, but he's always there, in the back of her mind, along with countless others.

There are days that Maya's just fine, days that she will remember always. And there are days that are so-so, they're okay, she probably won't remember these when she's fifty. And then, there are days when Maya thinks the world might end, when she feels her life crashing and burning and doesn't know what to do about it.

The phone rings.

"Hello?" She'll ask, not bothering to check the caller i.d.

_"Gorgeous."_

The line crackles, and, well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who it is.

She _smiles._

* * *

**fin.**


End file.
